1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a clip driver for clipping sheets of paper of documents or the like, and particularly relates to a clip driver capable of storing a plurality of clips each of which is formed by bending an elastic plate-like body so as to have abutment portions on its longitudinally opposite ends, so that the clips are sequentially fed to a clip opening position in which the abutment portions of each clip are opened so as to hold the sheets of paper between the abutment portions.
2. Description of the Related Art
In JP-Y-58-4698, the Applicant of this application has proposed not only a clip which is formed of a sheet of elastic plate-like member so as to have a back portion formed at the longitudinal center of the plate-like member and abutment portions formed so as to be continued to this back portion so that their front ends abut against each other, but also a clip driver for opening the abutment portions of such a clip so as to make the clip hold sheets of paper such as documents between the abutment portions. This clip driver is constituted by: a driver body having an insertion inlet formed at its front end for inserting end portions of sheets of paper to be clipped, a clip insertion inlet formed at its rear end, and a storage portion formed in its inside for storing clips; an clip opening spring provided near the insertion inlet in the driver body so as to be inserted between the abutment portions of a clip to thereby open the abutment portions against the elasticity of the clip; and a lever storably inserted into the storage portion from the rear end of the storage portion so as to engage with a back portion of a clip to thereby push the clip toward the insertion opening. When sheets of paper are to be clipped, the sheets of paper are inserted to the insertion inlet, and a clip is moved toward the insertion inlet by the lever. As the clip is further moved, the clip opening spring is inserted into the opening between the abutment portions of the clip. The clip is further moved toward the insertion inlet while opening the abutment portions to reach a position where the sheets of paper placed in the insertion inlet are sandwiched between the abutment portions of the clip. When the lever is moved further forward, the clip is removed from the clip opening spring, so that the clip is ejected from the insertion inlet in a state where the clip holds the sheets of paper between the abutment portions.
In the clip driver proposed in the above-mentioned JP-Y-58-4698, there was a defect that it was impossible to charge a plurality of clips in the storage portion because one clip is pushed out by the front end of the lever. Therefore, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,353,157, the inventor of this application proposed a clip driver in which a knob was provided on the upper surface of a storage portion of a driver body so that the knob could slide in the front/rear direction and the front end portion of the knob could move down. In the clip driver, by advancing this knob while pushing down it, a clip was pushed out to the position of an clip opening spring. At the same time, a plurality of clips could be charged in a storage portion. After the first clip was pushed out, the knob was moved back to abut against the back portion of the next clip, so that the next clip could be moved to the portion of the clip opening springs. In this clip driver proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,353,157, it was necessary to move back the knob whenever a new clip was to be positioned to the portion of the clip opening springs, so that there was a problem that the operation was troublesome, although a plurality of clips could be stored so that a plurality of sets of sheets of paper could be clipped continuously.
Therefore, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,755, the inventor of this application further proposed a clip driver in which a knob protrusion projected over the upper surface of the front end of a knob, while the knob was always kept backward and upward by a spring. When sheets of paper were to be clipped by this clip driver, the knob was pushed down against the elastic force of the spring and moved forward to thereby push out a first clip. Since the knob was moved up and back when the thumb handling the knob was separated from the knob, the knob could move back without being disturbed by the next clip to push out the next clip.
According to the clip driver in U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,755, it is possible to clip end portions of sheets of paper only by the operation to move the knob forward, and it is possible to clip sets of sheets of paper continuously. However, it is necessary to operate the knob only by a thumb, so that there is a problem that some manual dexterity is required for the operation to move the knob forward while pushing it down.